“…In the wake of Whitney Houston’s tragic death, (Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris) Christie’s done it again. By ordering his state government’s flags to half-staff to mourn the singer’s tragic death, he has ignited a heated national debate about who should — and who should not — be posthumously honored by the public. In the process, his move has provided a lesson in how dog-whistle politics works — and how the ugliest forms of bigotry still dictate so many Americans’ unconscious reflexes.

“Thankfully, Christie did the right thing and proudly stood by his decision, saying “I am disturbed by people who believe that… because of her history of substance abuse that somehow she’s forfeited the good things that she did in her life — I just reject that on a human level.” But that hasn’t stopped the backlash. In response to Christie’s alleged crime of honoring the dead, conservatives’ Fake Outrage MachineTM has rip-corded to life, generating the usual howls of heartland outrage — including a man who burnt a New Jersey flag in protest of Christie’s order.”

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That’s an interesting angle and it’s great to see a Republican (a party not necessarily known for their openness to anything non-WASP-y) take a positive stand on this issue (Houston was a phenomenal singer and most definitely an iconic New Jersey state figure).

This brings up the main contention that many “heartland” conservatives have, which is this problematic anti-social progressive ideology. I’ll say that I’m liberal-leaning (probably because I’m young), but it really chaps my ass when I see these pundits and politicians take these completely out-of-date social norms and try to apply them to present-day American society.

It’s an anti-progressive denunciation that just bewilders me. Now, some far-left people and intellectuals have some pretty anti-pragmatic ideas, but conservatives’ crying foul when someone with a god-given talent is honored for her craft (despite her demons, but who doesn’t have them?) really blows my mind.

I wonder how people would feel if they found that Christie did THE EXACT SAME THING when Frank Sinatra died. The problem is that we simply react presently instead of digging deeper. Most think this is the first time he has done this so HOW DARE HE!